Intertwined Hearts
by hpfangirl1
Summary: Hermione likes Fred, and Fred likes Hermione but they would not admit it to each other. Follow their story as destiny and fate paves their seperate paths into one. Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter (including the characters and setting and everything!)

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"WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" Hermione screeched, her eyes flashing dangerously, "I thought I made it clear that this was unacceptable! Do you want me to write to your mother?"

Fred and George jumped guiltily, a red flush creeping up their necks simultaneously as they stuffed a brown paper bag behind them. A group of young first and second years were retching and one small girl was knocked out cold.

"We're paying them a bloody lot! Besides, it won't hurt them… too much." Fred looked slightly flustered, "And please don't write to Mum! She'll _murder _us! Do you really want to be responsible for our deaths?" Fred gave Hermione his most convincing puppy eyes. George followed suit.

Hermione felt her lips twitch at the identical expressions on the twins' faces.

"Fine," She sighed, "But one more time, _one _more, and you might as well write your death note and will." Hermione turned around to find Ron slumped on an armchair, trying his best to hide. "Thanks for your help, Ronald." She told him icily, walking over.

"You never need my help anyways," Ron muttered. Harry snorted from the table, his quill scratching the parchment as he worked on a five-page essay for Snape.

"And you won't need my help on your homework anymore." Hermione snapped as she promptly whipped out a few objects that were a sad excuse for hats. Beaming, she laid them on a couch, covering them with various junk scattered around the room. "Good night," She called, skipping into her dormitory.

Pulling the hangings around her bed, she stripped out of her day clothes and pulled on a nightgown. Hermione lay down, staring up at the ceiling, reviewing today's events. It had been a very satisfying day. In the morning, Ron had smiled at her and their hands had met briefly as they both grabbed for a napkin. She giggled as she remembered how Ron had blushed furiously. Then Professor Flitwick informed her that she had gotten one hundred and twenty percent on her most recent test. Hermione beamed, making a mental note to write to her parents about that. Her mind suddenly wandered to a few minutes ago. She scowled, thinking of the obnoxious way Fred and George had fed the poor first and second years those horrible treats. Even so, she couldn't help but give a small smile at their matching puppy dog faces. Hermione remembered Fred's face more clearly, perhaps because he had spoken the most. As much as she told herself that she loathed him, she couldn't help but notice, while she stared up defiantly into his eyes, the blueness. It wasn't baby blue, as everyone had described him, but rather an ocean blue. She liked the way his freckles scattered over his nose, dancing onto his cheeks. This was the first time Hermione had actually observed Fred's facial features this closely. She blushed in the darkness. _No! _She stopped herself abruptly, _What am I thinking? I like Ron, not Fred! Fred is the obnoxious guy who doesn't have so much as a gram of maturity and can't be serious if his life depended on it! Besides, _Hermione thought wistfully, _He wouldn't like a girl like me. There's brilliant girls for him out there… like Angelina. _She felt a twinge of jealousy. _I am NOT jealous! I like Ron. For that matter, I'll come clean with him tomorrow. _With that, Hermione drifted off into a fretful sleep, Fred's grinning face invading her peaceful dreams about Ron.

"I HATE UMBRIDGE!" Harry roared, "SHE GAVE ME ANOTHER… FREAKING... DETENTION!" Hermione and Ron looked up at him in alarm, trying to calm him.

"It's lunch right now, Harry! Everybody's staring!" Hermione glanced around.

"You didn't mind everyone staring when you confessed your undying love to Ron and started snogging him in the middle of breakfast!"

Hermione blushed, "Well… Oh never mind." She intertwined her hand with Ron's and fed him a piece of carrot off her fork.

Harry turned away, slightly embarrassed. Dread dawned onto him as he spotted Angelina marching towards him.

"POTTER, I HEARD YOU GOT ANOTHER DETENTION?" Angelina was positively livid.

"Well… Erm… Uh… Kinda… yeah." Harry stammered back.

Hermione and Ron stared at the two, throwing each other pitying glances for Harry. Right when Angelina was puffing herself up, about to give a long and harsh lecture, Fred and George walked into the Great Hall. Upon seeing the expressions on Harry and Angelina's face, Fred threw his arm around Angelina and asked, "Who you planning to kill, sweetie?"

Angelina's face softened a little as she rested her head against his broad shoulders and replied, "Harry got himself into another detention." She shook her head.

"Yeah, well that Umbridge is a whole new definition of bloody banshee. She's landed George and me in a detention also."

Hermione watched Fred talk with such casualty and admired the laid-back way he'd thrown his arm around Angelina. She wished Ron could act less uptight around her sometimes and learn from his brother. Although, Hermione corrected herself, his flustered actions are rather cute. Even so, she gazed, almost wistfully, at the way Angelina laid her head on his shoulders.

"WHAT?" Angelina jerked up, making Hermione feel slightly better, "NOT YOU GUYS TOO!"

"Aw, Angelina, don't yell at us! It's Umbridge's fault. All I did was tell her that a she resembled a toad greatly and should make some alterations to her face or else Fudge wouldn't want her." Fred said this with all innocence, although casting George a mischievous smile. George grinned back and dropped down beside Katie, brushing his lips against her cheek.

_Ron really should learn from them, _Hermione couldn't help but think, _If Ron could have passed off a move half as smooth as George did, I would have been on the lookout for flying pigs. _She sighed, shaking her head slightly as Angelina got ready to explode.

"Angelina," Katie put a hand on her friend and captain's arm, "Calm down. We'll just skip practice today and make it up tomorrow. Let's just have a nice, peaceful lunch for now." She grinned slyly at George, "Or perhaps _you _guys can have a nice, peaceful lunch. C'mon, George. Let's uh… Finish our homework." Katie got up and dragged George out of the Great Hall.

Hermione felt a nudge in her ribs and she turned to see Ron smiling suggestively.

"Maybe we can do some homework also." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Hermione smiled weakly at his attempts to act cool, but he just couldn't do it the way Fred could. Fred's eyebrow wiggle made girls fall at his feet while Ron's just made Hermione feel sick.

"Not now, Ron. We should talk to Harry." She pretended not to notice how Ron's face fell. She absentmindedly stuffed a fry into her mouth as she watched Fred whisper in Angelina's ear. Angelina wacked him playfully on the shoulder and whispered something back. Fred's lips curved into a mesmerizing smile as he slipped his arm around Angelina's waist and gave her a kiss on the forehead before spooning her a mouthful of ice cream. Angelina gave him a spoonful back.

"Hermione?" Ron prodded her on the shoulder, "What are you looking at?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." She stared into Ron's blue eyes, identical to Fred's. A sudden urge came up to her and she wrapped her arms around him, smashing her lips against his. Ron responded eagerly, his arms tightening around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Hoots and catcalls sounded around them. Hermione opened her eyes, as if automatically, and peered at Fred out of the corner of her eyes. He had glanced briefly towards them and flashed Hermione a smile and thumbs up when he spotted her staring at him. Angry for unknown reasons, she tore her eyes away from him and pulled out of the kiss.

"Wow, Hermione!" Ron whispered, his eyes glittering, "That was… great!"

Hermione barely acknowledged him with a nod, and frowned. Was she expecting some reaction from Fred? Why was she so disappointed when Fred gave her a thumbs-up? What else did she want? Hermione rubbed her temples, thoroughly confused by her own thoughts. She gave a small shake, getting rid of her thoughts as she turned to Harry.

"Hey Harry… So, when's your detention?" Hermione nodded towards his scarred hand, "You really should go to Dumbledore with that."

"Once you're done making out with Ron, you decide to come and dwell in my business?" Harry looked annoyed, "Besides, no way I'm going to Dumbledore because of my hand! That'll only make me seem weak and give Umbridge the satisfaction of knowing she's getting to me." He sighed, his eyes glued to the Ravenclaw table. Hermione followed his gaze to a petite blonde who was sitting slightly isolated from the rest of the students, reading a magazine upside down.

"You should tell her how you feel."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry avoided Hermione's gaze.

"You know very well that I'm talking about your feelings for Luna."

"I don't have any!"

"Right. That explains why you pay extra attention to her at the D.A."

"I don't!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and decided to leave him be, just staring at Luna. She had talked to Luna a few days ago and Luna had admitted that she did, perhaps, have a small crush on Harry. Hermione could hear from her tone of voice that it was well beyond a "small crush", but she didn't prod. Her thoughts led to the sessions of D.A. It was then that she had realized Fred's true potential. He was extremely clever, not that she didn't already know that. She had to admit that a few of their inventions were rather… advanced. But Fred's performance during the D.A. meetings had been outstanding. Hermione closed her eyes, imagining Fred, standing in his plain robes that could only look good on him, conjuring up the perfect patronus. She sighed and opened her eyes, only to see Ron gobbling up food like a pig.

"Ew Ron! You've got pudding all down your front!"

"Oooh… 'M sseewee." Ron mumbled, spraying food all over the table.

Hermione was grossed out and decided to focus her attention, once again, on Fred. He was also shoveling food into his mouth, although he looked much less obnoxious. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he snorted at Lee's joke. Next to him, Angelina gossiped with the rest of the girls, her arm around Fred's waist. He abruptly glanced up saw Hermione staring at him. Hermione looked away, positioning herself so that her hair would hide her fiercely blushing cheeks.

_Is she staring at me again? _Fred wondered as he caught Hermione's eye and she quickly turned away. He had to admit that he was slightly smug. He had felt her eyes on him many times before and she was even watching him when she snogged Ron. He had given her a thumbs-up to tell her that he was totally happy that she was dating Ron. Yet inside, he had felt a foreign twinge of jealousy. Fred knew, deep down, he had a small soft spot for Hermione. As much as she is a royal pain in the butt, digging her nose way too much into George and his business, he couldn't help but notice that she had grown from his little brother's best friend to an attractive young woman. Last year at the Yule Ball, he had realized, for the first time, that Hermione was beautiful. When she didn't have about a hundred books as accessories, she was breathtaking. At that time, he had felt that Viktor Krum was one lucky man. Even though Angelina was a beauty also, he couldn't bring himself to admire her the way he admired Hermione. She had everything—Beauty, brains, guys… Yes, guys. Although she seemed oblivious to it, most of the guys in Gryffindor and even some in other houses have been talking about Hermione. She no longer was the "know-it-all nerd" everyone thought they knew, but she was the "really-hot-know-it-all-nerd." No one, of course, but George knew about this little crush. Fred stared as Hermione threw Ron an annoyed look before getting up and leaving. He could barely hold down the urge to follow her as she walked out, her bushy hair that he'd learn to love swinging elegantly from side to side. Even with her fifty pound books, in Fred's eyes, Hermione was beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and am not making any profits out of this.**

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for reading! . I hope the story is enjoyable to read. Please review and tell me what you think so I can decide whether or not to continue. Thank you!**

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Hermione threw her bag onto the ground and sat down on the bed. She clutched her head in her hands. _I'm so confused! _Hermione hated emotions right then, _How could I be thinking of Fred as I was snogging Ron?_ _Is it possible that I like…NO! _She stopped herself, _NO! Fred is the git who's been the core of my troubles! So what if every girl in Gryffindor wants him? I don't! So what if his eyes are the most beautiful I've seen? Ron has those eyes too! So what if he's clever? He didn't put his cleverness to good use! He uses it on his joke products, which are complete junk! _Hermione immediately regretted what she thought. As much as the twin's joke products bothered Hermione, she knew in her heart that they were not junk. In fact, it had to take _skill _to create them. _Skill that Ron obviously lacks. _Hermione thought before she could stop herself. _Wait! What am I thinking? What kind of girlfriend am I? Ugh, and I thought loyalty was one of my top qualities. _Hermione shook her head, disgusted with herself. Yet somewhere deep down inside, a little voice was crying out with the truth.

"You l-i-k-e him, Hermione!"

Hermione argued back, "No I don't! I l-i-k-e Ronald Weasley!"

"C'mon Hermione, why else is he constantly on your mind?"

"C'mon yourself, why am I even talking to you? You are me!"

"Quit being in denial!"

"I'm not! I _know_ that I like Ron!"

"You _know_ that plenty of his habits disgust you."

"Just his eating habits! Well, also the way he procrastinates, doesn't help out with Prefect duties, how he seems so needy sometimes, and… So? Everyone has flaws! I'll learn to accept them! Besides, Fred also has flaws that I hate, if you're using this against me!"

"But you don't truly _hate _them. Remember how Ron totally had you disgusted? Fred just had you annoyed, and after that, you forgave him. Proves you like him."

"Why the _heck _am I arguing with myself?"

"You just gave in."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Hermione shut her little voice out and gazed around the room. She began giggling and it soon erupted into laughter. _My my, Hermione Jane Granger, _She thought to herself, _Aren't you getting a little crazy? If someone walked in and saw you shouting to nobody like that…_Hermione doubled over, bursting out with laughter. And even as she laughed, she secretly knew, at the very back of her mind, that she did indeed like Mr. Fredrick Immature Weasley.

Suddenly, a loud yell traveled up from downstairs, "AW MAN!" It was followed by a few select cuss words. Hermione went to the head of the staircase to see that it had turned itself into a slide, which it does only when a male wants to get into a girl's dorm.

Searching for the culprit, she was astonished to discover it was─ "Fred?"

Fred became worried when he didn't find Hermione in the library after lunch, and didn't see her in Snape's class even after class had started for fifteen minutes; an all-time late record for Hermione. Leave it to Hermione to be in the same potions class as a group of 7th years. Thinking she may have been seriously ill or in some kind of trouble, Fred swallowed one of his puking pastels and was excused by an extremely revolted Snape. Fred decided to look for her in the girl's dorm when he couldn't find her around the school. He'd even checked Moaning Myrtle's bathroom! Fred shuttered, thinking about him. Moaning Myrtle had come up on him like he was her possession or something! His last resort was the girl's dormitory. Although he heard about the whole stairs-turn-to-slide rule, he didn't quite believe it since he didn't ever need to sneak into a girl's dorm… it was usually vice versa. But when Fred ran up half the stairs, just as he was triumphant that he'd proved the theory wrong, the stairs slid out from under him and he tumbled down the slide. Getting up, he cursed and glared at the slide. As he was plotting revenge against a slide, he heard a timid voice ask "Fred?" Jerking his head up, he saw Hermione looking questionably down at him. _Awww bloody Hell, _Fred thought, _Of all the times she could have seen me, she had to see me with a bruised elbow, a red nose, and messed up hair, glaring daggers at an inanimate staircase that just recently turned into a slide because he, Fred Weasley, was trying to sneak into her dorm. God, I hope she doesn't think I'm some kind of perv! _

"Uh, why hello, Hermione!" Fred answered, trying to make it sound like he didn't just tumble down a huge staircase-slide.

"Yeah, why were you trying to come up here?"

"Wha─? I didn't! I… went up the wrong staircase."

Hermione raised her eyebrow skeptically at him, "Right. And where have _you _been this past six years?"

"Erm…" Fred stuttered, "I… You're late for Snape's class!" He blurted. Why couldn't he talk straight? _Maybe because you just made a fool out of yourself in front of Granger, _He thought bitterly, _When you planned to waltz into her dorm and announce, teasingly, how she was at least twenty minutes late for potions. _

"WHAT? HOW LATE?" Hermione shrieked, checking her watch, "OH MY GOD! IT'S TWENTY FIVE MINUTES INTO CLASS?" She let out a stream of extremely colorful swearwords including ones Fred thought she'd never learn in her lifetime. Hermione scrambled out of sight and came back with her bag and ran down the stairs that had turned itself back to normal.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, JUST STANDING THERE?" She screamed at Fred, on the way down. Reaching the bottom, she grabbed his hand and raced for the dungeons.

"What do we have here?" Snape sneered, as Hermione and Fred burst into the classroom, hand in hand, "A young couple on a honeymoon? It looks like Mr. Weasley recovered quickly. That's…" He glanced at the clock on the wall, "Thirty minutes late. Let's take a point for each minute, which makes thirty points _each._ Sixty points from Gryffindor!"

Hermione turned beet red and shuffled to her seat while Fred walked over to his two tables away. She wasn't so upset over the loss of house points; she was used to that. What had startled her was Snape saying that they were a couple. What would Angelina think? She got her answer when she glanced over at Angelina, only to see Angelina staring at her with a murderous glare. _Okay, I've lost thirty points, missed nearly half of class, and Angelina looks like she's about to kill me with her bare hands. _Hermione snuck another peek at the older girl, _Yep. If looks can kill… I'd be dead. _

"Fred, what's going on between you and Ms. Nerdy?" Angelina hissed as Fred dropped down next to her.

"Nothing! I went to the Common Room to relax, and found her. I told her that she was late to Snape's and she freaked out and dragged me along with her!" Fred didn't exactly _lie. _

"Why were you guys holding hands?" Angelina's eyes flashed dangerously, "I swear if I find out that she's been seducing you, I have plenty of ways to _murder _her with nothing but my hands. Forget my wand."

"Uh… She tripped just outside the door and I pulled her up as we walked in." The lie slid easily off his tongue. It wasn't as if he's never had practice with teachers. He only had to watch himself around Hermione. She was the kind that could make the smoothest liar stutter.

Angelina didn't seem to completely believe him, but she laid off on the "watch-out-I'm-going-to-kill-you-in-your-sleep" look. Fred smiled sheepishly and slipped his arm around her waist, allowing her to lean against him.

Once Angelina was taken care of, Fred tuned everything out and sank back to relive what happened just moments ago. He replayed the moment Hermione and his hands wrapped together. A dreamy smile appeared on his face as he remembered how good her soft warm hand had felt in his calloused one. Coincidentally, Angelina chose that moment to take Fred's hand and grin sweetly at him. Fred smiled vaguely back and couldn't help but notice how crude and calloused Angelina's hands were from years of Quidditch. He glanced over at Hermione, only to see her look back. He winked at her, causing her cheeks to flush pink and she glanced away, fiddling with her robe. How he loved it when Hermione blushed! It reminded him of all the reasons why Hermione had captured his heart; the side of Hermione that was usually hidden by a mask of bossiness and cleverness. He knew it was this side that Ron saw in her and loved. _Ron…_The name suddenly registered in Fred's mind, _I can't do this to Ron! If I somehow lead Hermione into thinking…Er…knowing that I like her and some odd thing comes over her and she decides that she likes me back, what will happen to Ron? He's like her for ages! No, I can't do this to Ron. _Fred decided that, for his brother's sake, he was going to leave Hermione Granger off his list… As hard as it will be for him.

_Oh. My. God. Did Fred just wink at me? _Hermione felt pleased, _Like, Fred Weasley. Like the guy you just admitted to yourself that you were majorly crushing on? Like, the Hogwarts Hottie? Oh my God, is this Hermione thinking? I SOUND LIKE AN AIRHEAD! _Hermione fought down the urge to slap herself upside the head, _Okay, so you like Fred Weasley. Big deal. You don't have to totally blank out every time he winks at you! Wait, how can you do this? What about Ron? How could you tell him you like him, get his hopes up, and let him down like this? Oh well, I can't lie to him anymore… I can't keep him in the dark anymore… I have to tell him. Ugh! I hope he's happy, that Fred. He's causing me so much distress! Ugh… I mean, I like him… but at the same time─_

"Miss Granger? Could you please answer my question?" Snape's droning voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I HATE HIM!" Hermione cried, finishing her thought out loud. The whole class stared blankly at her.

Snape blinked twice before saying smoothly, "I'm sure you do, but that has nothing to do whatsoever with the question, so will you get on with answering?"

"I… uh… You… Please…" Hermione became flustered, "Sorry, Professor, I wasn't paying attention."

"I thought as much," Snape smirked, "Five points from Gryffindor." Hermione turned red as the rest of the Gryffindors groaned and the Slytherins laughed. She turned to catch Fred's eye, only too see him glare angrily back at her.

_Who does she hate so much? _Fred thought worriedly, _I hope it isn't me! Oh please tell me it's not me! _Fred groaned, _Yeah, it's probably me. I mean who else has been pulling pranks and making her angry since about forever? God, why'd I have to fall for the girl who's been on my tail, making sure I've toed the line every minute of the day? _He groaned again, _I just _had _to like a girl who probably won't like me back, didn't I? A girl who my little brother has already called dibs on. _Fred groaned a third time.

"Fred, what's wrong?" Angelina whispered, her voice filled with concern.

"Huh?"

"You keep groaning."

"Oh, nothing. Just a stomach ache." He gave Angelina a reassuring smile and turned away to see Hermione staring into his eyes.

_Oh, Hermione! Please look away! I beg you! _Fred pleaded silently, _Your eyes… they way they're glistening sadly…No! I can't stand this! But…Ronald. I have to think for my brother, my baby brother. _Fred forced himself, using all his willpower, to glare defiantly at her. _Oh God, Hermione, if only you knew how much it kills me to do this. But I'm sure you wouldn't want to hurt Ron either, would you? _He tried to communicate all this with her through hateful eyes. Somehow, he didn't think she got the message. His heart ached to see Hermione turn away, her eyes hurt and tearful.

"Class dismissed." Snape announced, sounding all too cheerful.

"Hey Fred, we can actually talk loudly!" Angelina stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder, beaming.

"Yeah." Fred put his arm around Angelina and pulled her close, knowing that Hermione was watching this, "I love you." …_Hermione_, Fred added to himself. Closing his eyes, his lips met with Angelina's in a soft kiss. In Fred's mind, though, the girl in his arms was Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own the Harry Potter series.**

**Author's Note: Don't forget to leave a review! You know, it really encourages me to write more.**

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**Hermione stared as Fred embraced another girl in his arms and kissed her gently. A searing pain tore at her heart and tears pushed their way out of her tear ducts and down her cheeks. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if it was only the fact that Fred was kissing another girl, but today had been a horrible day altogether. Hermione had chosen today to finally admit that she was madly crushing on Fred, decided to tell Ron because Fred had lifted her hopes up with the wink and coming to look for her during Potions. Yet fate had somehow also chosen today to be the day she missed half of Potions, got thirty five points deducted, couldn't answer a teacher's question, causing her to look at Fred in hope of receiving an encouraging smile, but instead trading it off for a hateful glare. And now Fred was kissing another girl in front of her. Hermione pushed past the couple, tears blurring her vision.

"Hermione!" Was the Fred calling after her? Even if he was, she didn't want to deal with him. She didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment. Her head bowed down, she fled through the corridors and into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Oh lookie here, another one coming to visit Myrtle's bathroom?" Myrtle's voice inquired, zooming up from a toilet to sit on the ledge of the U-bend, staring down at Hermione. Hermione had collapsed on the floor, her books astray and her robes spread out around her as she sobbed weakly, her right cheek pressed against the dirty ground.

"This one is rather distraught," Myrtle tsk tsked. It was clear that she was enjoyed it when other people were depressed, "The cute one, Fred Weasley barged in apparently looking for you."

"DON'T MENTION HIS NAME!" Hermione screamed, her voice echoing in the empty bathroom. Hermione contined to cry in the same position, her tears flowing freely to the ground. The extra bit of wetness didn't matter. It's not as if Myrtle hadn't been flooding the toilets every few days.

Myrtle's grin grew wider, knowing she had hit a nerve.

"And I was just crying, mourning my death, and _Fred_ burst into my stall, yelling "HERMIONE? WHAT'S WRONG?" You should have seen to look on _Fred's _face. It was comical. _Fred _looked so disappointed that it wasn't you. So I decided to flirt with _Fred_ for reasons quite obvious. Maybe I'm a little rusty on my flirting skills, because that certainly drove _Fred _away, pretty fast." Myrtle put an emphasis on every "Fred" she said.

Hermione all listened to this in silence, feeling a little better knowing that Fred was actually searching for her. But it had all been a lie, and she knew it through the look in his eyes when he glared at her.

"Are you a little heart broken over Mr. _Fred Weasley?" _Myrtle smirked, she loved to torture others, give them a little kick when they're down.

Hermione had been holding her anger down, but Myrtle had finally got on her last nerve. Glancing up to determine Myrtle's location, floating about a meter away from her, she grabbed her bag and chucked it at the Moaning Myrtle. It went right through her stomach. _Ten points for me, _Hermione suddenly had enough strength to smile again. Myrtle blinked, staring down at the book bag for five seconds before promptly bursting into tears. Hermione scooped her bag up onto her shoulder and left, feeling a bloody lot better than she did coming in. _Hm, this is really effective! _Hermione thought to herself, _Maybe I should try taking my anger out on Myrtle more. It's even more fun than taking it out on Ron and Harry! Ron…_ Her little flame of happiness flickered and died out. _Should I still tell him that I don't like him anymore? That I really like Fred? _Somehow she couldn't bring herself to hurt Ron now that there's no chance Fred likes her. Yet it seemed wrong, dating Ron while her heart belonged to someone else. She wasn't sure if she could deal with the guilt. It was almost like cheating! _I'll just tell him that we should stay friends, _She finally decided, _I'll leave out the fact that it's because Fred has snagged my stupid mind and my even stupider heart. Oops, sorry heart and mind. I love you guys, 'cause obviously without you guys I wouldn't live. But still, if I leave out Fred, I wouldn't exactly be lying to Ron, right? _Hermione nodded to herself, _I'll do it at dinner. _She walked of to her charm's class with determination. Thank God she didn't have that with the seventh years. She was only moved to seventh year Potions because she was both able and Snape wanted to separate the three of them─ Ron, Harry, and her. Harry had been moved up with the sixth years and poor Ron was left behind in the dust.

"Hey, Hermione!" Ron grinned a goofy grin and waved at her from his seat. Hermione's heart melted at Ron's trademark grin. Maybe she did like him! Suddenly, Ron let out a loud and disgusting burp. Okay, probably not.

"That was disgusting Ronald!" Hermione edged away from him.

"High five, mate! That musta been the loudest one I've heard yet!" Harry laughed. His and Ron's palms collided in an enthusiastic high five.

_…And that's why I want to break up with him. _Hermione rolled her eyes. Suddenly she couldn't wait to break up with him.

"I was right!" The little voice in her head was back, "Hate to say this… but told ya so!"

Hermione, not in the mood to start another argument with herself, shut the little voice out once again.

"Okay class, pull out or wands today and we'll try a very advanced charm! With your wand, make your movements smooth and silky as you do this," Tiny Professor Flitwick, standing on about ten books made a swishing motion with his wand, "Then you say 'Anyasotobrodio.' His desk began glowing and shot off colorful sparks. "Perhaps not very practical, but quite useful for entertaining guests. You all shall start with rocks. Now Ms. Patil, can you please come up here and pass out the rocks?" Parvati got up, took the box Flitwick was holding and passed them out.

Ron received his and immediately muttered, "Anyasotobrodio!" He brought his wand down hard onto the rock. There was a small explosive sound and he covered his face with his arms as small rock pieces showered over his head. Flitwick threw him an exasperated look before levitating another rock to Ron.

"Uh… Yeah, that didn't quite work out." Ron commented, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could while his ears were bright red.

"Ronald, Flitwick said "smooth and silky" not "sudden and awkward". Besides, it's pronounced "anyasotobrodi-oh," not "anyasotobrodi-ooh". I thought I told you to make sure to get your pronunciation right all the way back in our first year." Hermione rolled her eyes. _I'll bet Fred would never make such a stupid mistake. He's smart, really, if only he tried in class… _

"Yeah, yeah." Ron mumbled, irritated, "Where were you before I screwed up?"

"Well, I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Well, I'm stupid, okay?"

Hermione took a deep breath, "Just wait for dinner," she told herself, "Don't make a big scene in the middle of class." _And, _she thought wistfully, _if Fred sees that I'm free, maybe he'll consider me! _Then her evil side came out and retorted, _Yeah, right, Granger. Keep dreamin'. He's never gonna like a girl like you! Look at you, typical bookworm, and look at Angelina… Queen of Quidditch, beauty of the Gryffindors, like you could beat that. _

"What? Silently admitting how stupid I am?" Ron snarled after getting no response from her.

"Just shut up."

"YOU!"

_What did I ever see in him? _Hermione shook her head, _For that matter, why couldn't I see how much we'd argue? And to think at one point, I actually considered _marrying _him! Didn't the word 'divorce' register in my head? With the way we argue, we'd probably split right after we exchanged vows at the wedding! _

"Whatever, Ronald." Hermione smoothly waved her wand and said "Anyasotobrodio!" Her rock began to shoot sparks in a brilliant array of colors.

"GOOD JOB!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, "Ladies and gentlemen, take a look here. Miss Granger had performed the charm perfectly!" He clapped his hands.

"Show off." Ron muttered bitterly at her.

"Excuse me? I'm just doing the assignment!"

"Still a know-it-all." He sneered back at her.

Hermione turned away in a huff. _How dare he? Just because I actually read the books and pay attention, he gets all mad! He is SUCH an imbecile! _

"Harry, can you believe him??" She uttered at the poor boy.

"Hey," He raised his hands in a surrender position as Ron glared warningly at him, "I'm not involved in this." His rock suddenly seemed to interest him as he examined it most closely.

Hermione crossed her arms and turned away from both boys. The trio ignored by the rest of the class, who were desperately trying to make the charm work. _I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! _She cried to herself, _Today has been such a horrible day! I can't wait for it to end! _Tears pricked the sides of her eyes, and she bit her lip, holding them back. For the rest of class, Ron and she refused to talk, occasionally throwing murderous glances at one another. When the class ended, she breathed a sigh of relief, for it was finally dinner time.

Hermione watched Fred walk in to the Great Hall with Angelina and seated himself directly across from her. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met briefly and she was lost in dizzying blueness. It only lasted for a second, however, for he turned away hurriedly. Facing Ron, who oddly chose to sit next to her despite the argument they had, she waited for him to finish gobbling up the mashed potatoes before beginning to speak.

"Ron, we need to talk."

Ron knew that tone of voice from when she broke up with Viktor Krum the year before. Her "we need to talk" meant "we're going to break up." And Hermione knew that he knew.

"Hermione, if it's because of our argument, I'm really really really sorry! Just please don't dump me. I really, truly, like you!" He begged.

Hermione sighed wearily, "Ronald…"

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" To her astonishment, Fred was speaking to her from across the table, "In a more… quiet area?"

Fred clearly heard every word Hermione was saying, and he panicked when Ron said "Please don't dump me." His inner brother self came roaring up and he knew he just had to protect his little brother. Thinking quickly, he decided that he needed to talk to Hermione in private, to make it clear that she had no chance with him whatsoever.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" He said the first thing that came up in his mind, "In a more… quiet area?"

Hermione stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "Sure."

"What are you up to, Fredrick?" Angelina narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you mean 'quiet area'?"

"I'll explain later, but I swear it isn't what you're thinking, honey." Fred smiled at her and got up, motioning for Hermione to follow.

Out of the Great Hall, Fred grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her to the nearest broom closet.

_Oh mi God. _Hermione's heart thudded in her chest, _He's got my hand and we're going to a broom closet. Oh mi God! Is he going to kiss me? _Her cheeks flushed pink as she realized that she wanted that to happen. Fred closed the door of the broom closet behind him.

"Okay Hermione, you can stop blushing because I'm not going to do what you're thinking I'm about to do."

"I… I'm not thinking about anything!" Hermione stuttered, her voice oddly high pitched, "Nothing at all!"

"Okay," Fred looked skeptical, "Anyways, if anyone asks, I came here to ask you to cut some slack on George and my inventions, allowing us to do our testing on the kids, with pay. Which, you will agree to."

"WHAT?" Hermione cried indignantly, "I am neither going to cut some slack nor allow you to do testing on anyone other than yourselves!"

"Yeah, I thought that's what you'd say. Okay, so you said no. So remember, if anyone asks… that's our story." Fred loosened up a little, smiling.

Hermione grinned back, brightening her face, "Oh, so that's not what you sneaked me out here for?"

Fred sensed what she was trying to get across, "Hermione, no, I'm not about to ask you out or snog you!"

Hermione flushed, "N…No! Where would you get the idea that I'm thinking that?"

"Hermione, admit it, you're crazy about me!" Fred knew what he was saying would drive her over the edge, and that's exactly the goal he's trying to achieve. As much as it hurt him, he'd rather have her hate him then love him and hurt both Angelina and Ron.

"So what if I am? Is there a law saying 'Hermione Granger cannot fall in love with Fred Weasley?'"

Fred did a double take. He had expected Hermione to deny it, not admit it! Gathering himself together, he yelled, "YES THERE IS! BECAUSE YOU, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE DATING MY BROTHER!"

"Well I'm going to break up with him soon! Then I'll be free!"

"Listen, Granger! You have no chance with me! I don't, and will not like you! The nerdiest, bossiest Ms. Know-It-All there is!" Fred knew he had hit a home run, not only on Hermione, but on himself. He felt a stabbing pain at his chest as he saw a single tear roll gently down Hermione's rosy left cheek.

"Is that what you think of me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Fred couldn't trust himself with answering that question. Instead, he added, "Anyways, I won't allow you to hurt my brother this way! If you break up with him, Granger… Well, the consequences from Fred Weasley leave permanent damage."

"But you don't even care about Ron! You're always teasing him and reminding him how worthless he is!" Hermione's tears flowed freely from her cheeks.

"It's like Ron and his rat! Although he's always complaining about Scabbers, when he thought Scabbers was lost, he was heartbroken!" Fred backed Hermione up into the wall and put his hands on either side of her, glaring threateningly, "Let's put it this way, I'm Ron, Ron's Scabbers, and you're Crookshanks. If you _dare_ hurt him, I'll kill you." His eyes widened in shock as Hermione closed her eyes and leaned forward into him, her lips colliding with his.

Hermione couldn't help it. Fred's too-blue eyes blinded her from common sense. Despite his remarks about killing her, she shut her eyes and brought her lips to his. His lips were unbelievably soft and she automatically brought her hands up to his hair and ran her fingers through his rich chin-length hair, smooth and silky against her palm. At that moment, only one thought ran through her head: _I love Fred Weasley. _

_Oh God, her lips are so nice and gentle. I could do this forever. _Fred's eyes moved gently behind his closed eyelids. He allowed himself to relax, to give in to Hermione's affection. He placed one hand on her waist, the other on her neck. Just as he did so, he felt Hermione's mouth part slightly and her tongue pressed against his closed lip, waking him from his dazed position. His eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself away from her.

"This is wrong!" He said gruffly as he pushed open the door of the broom closet and stumbled out, slightly numb from Hermione's startling kiss. He sped back towards the Great Hall-- to find his girlfriend exiting towards him.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH HERMIONE GRANGER?" She shrieked, "Listen up, if I find that it was you trying to get her instead of her seducing you, I'll torture you with both my hands and wand until I have you begging for death!"

"Whoa, calm down Angel girl." Fred quickly resumed his composure, "I had to ask Granger if she could cut some slack on George and I experimenting on the little first years. She said no, of course. But she also freaked out at me and it took a while to calm her down. She's somewhere probably taking deep breaths or calming potion or something." Fred forced a smirk, "Now come on, Angelina, let's go back to dinner and get you some pumpkin juice or something to cool you down." He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her back into the Great Hall.

_Oh my God, _Hermione closed her eyes and leaned her back against the wall, _I just kissed Fred Weasley and he flat out rejected me. _It had been only a few seconds since the broom closet door had slammed shut, _He really hates me. He truly hates me! _Hermione allowed her tears to flow for a minute before wiping them away and gathering her courage to go back to dinner. _Forget breaking up with Ron. Fred will kill me anyways if I do. I'll go and hug him and maybe he'll help me feel better. _Hermione opened the door and walked towards the Great Hall. Reaching within a few meters away, she stopped abruptly. Before her eyes, Fred had slipped his arm around Angelina and walked her back into the Hall. _I can't go in now! _She thought to herself, _I don't know how I'd react if I see them making out. I'm going to the Common Room since I've got no appetite anyway. I'll go to Ron tomorrow. Aw crap, my book bag. Oh well, Ron and Harry should have enough sense to bring it back for me. _

"Hey, Fred, where's Hermione?" Ron was onto him just as he sat down.

"I'm not sure, Ronniekins," Fred winked, trying to act as normal as possible, "Probably somewhere around the school sticking needles in a Fred-doll, cursing me and my inventions." Ron and Harry looked confusedly at him, "Oh, I asked her if I could test on the first years with pay and stuff. She got ticked."

Ron laughed and then said, "I should go find her. I think she's mad at me, too." Harry patted his back sympathetically and wished him good luck. Ron grabbed Hermione's book bag that she left behind and walked away.

Fred watched as Ron sauntered off in search of the girl who he, Ron's older brother, had been kissing. Fred planted a light kiss on Angelina's forehead as he fought the guilt for both yelling at Hermione and almost accepting her kiss.

Back in her dorm, Hermione grabbed her nightgown, towel, and headed off to the bathroom for a long hot shower. Turning the tap on as hot as she could stand it, she threw her clothes in a pile on the floor and walked in under the spray. And as she raised her face to the water, she cried, for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The running water masked the sounds of her sobs and her tears blended in with the water that washed over her.

After an hour of burning hot water, she stepped out of the shower, toweled herself dry, slipped on her nightgown and walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room. As she walked through the portrait hole, she spotted Ron, sitting on the couch and staring into the fire. Feeling her presence, he held up her book bag, smiling his lopsided smile and said "Hey, you left this."

Wanting someone to hold her tight, Hermione cried, "Ron!" and hurled herself into him as he stood up. She pressed her cheek against his chest and hugged him tightly, welcoming the warm arms wrapping around her.

"So does this mean we're not breaking up?" She heard Ron's hopeful voice ask.

"No, Ron, we're not splitting." Hermione's answer allowed Ron to let out a relieved sigh as his arms tightened even more around her.

"I love you Hermione."


	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: Once again, The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Author's note: Sorry for the slow updates. I've been rather busy these days and so the next chapter may take a little bit to go up. Reviews are always encouraging and enjoy this chapter! Once again, sorry for the wait. **

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As Ron held her, Hermione felt his muscle tense after he said that. _Is he expecting me to tell him that I love him back? _Not wanting to lie to her boyfriend by saying that she loved him, but not wanting to hurt him with the truth, she chose her last option: kissing him. She pushed him down onto the couch and lay down on top of him. With her last glance at his Fred-blue eyes, she closed her eyes and placed her lips upon his, imaging him to be Fred. She groped his hair, neither long nor as silky as Fred's, but she tried to ignore it. Ron instantly responded to her, his saliva coating Hermione's lower lip. She resisted the urge to puke as she allowed Ron to slobber over her. Perhaps it was because she felt guilty for loving another boy. Hermione tried not to stiffen up as Ron ran his fingers lightly over her back, but when he began to slip his inexperienced, slimy tongue into her mouth, she pulled back.

Ron gave her a quizzical look, "What's wrong?" He placed his hand on her shoulder.

Hermione shrugged it off and gave a small smile, "I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed." She got up and as soon as she was out of Ron's eyesight, wiped her mouth thoroughly. _Ugh, I definitely need to rinse my mouth, _She thought as she rushed up the stairs into her dorm.

In the bathroom, Hermione swished the water in her mouth and spit it into the sink. She watched as it slowly drained away. It had been her fifth time rinsing her mouth. She felt as if she needed to erase all evidence of Ron's presence on her. If her spare nightgown wasn't in the wash, she would have changed out of the one she had on, which Ron ran his fingers over. To be honest, thinking of Ron as her boyfriend now repulsed her. At first, Ron seemed extremely appealing, with his red wavy hair and blue eyes. Yet now, after she had faced her feelings for Fred, Ron seemed like a nobody. His hair wasn't nearly as soft as Fred's, and although his eyes were the same shade, they didn't share Fred's intensity and depth. Aside from annoying her with stupid antics and angering her with his arguing, as it seemed to Hermione, Ron could do nothing. On the other hand, Fred was loved by his fellow classmates, clever, and even teachers enjoyed their presence. Although none of them would admit it, she could tell by how they would give a brief smile before jumping into a lecture about behavior, how whenever the "Weasley Twins" did something, they would roll their eyes in a good natured way. _Of course Fred wouldn't like me. Look at yourself, Hermione Jane Granger. _She stared into the mirror, _Look at your plain brown hair, always so bushy and out of control. Look at those brown eyes. Why can't they be less boring? Why do I look like me? Why can't I look more like Angelina? _Hermione felt a painful pang of jealousy, _Why do I have to be Hermione Granger? Why can't I be Angelina Johnson? _Tears began welling up in her eyes once again as she walked away from the bathroom and crawled into bed, silently crying herself to sleep.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione covered her eyes as Ron reached wildly for the Quaffle and failed miserably to block it from entering the hoops. A loud chorus of "Weasley Is Our King" rose up from the Slytherin crowd. _Harry and the twins really chose the worst day to get a detention._ Hermione thought, _Honestly, God knows Ronald needs a good training! _When Hermione had gotten up the next morning, feeling much better after a good night's rest, she found Harry asleep on the couch. His homework was spread out on the floor before him, his hand still carrying traces of blood marking the words 'I must not tell lies'. She had felt guilt creep upon her for not having a bowl of Essence of Murlap ready for him, but he had woken up and insisted that it was no matter when she explained how sorry she was. Hermione was in the middle of fussing over Harry's hand and attempting a healing charm on him when Fred appeared groggily at the bottom of the stairs. He used the back of his hand, the one that had been carved into during detention, to rub his eyes and that woke him up immediately. He yelped in pain as his freshly healed scar tissue burst open and began bleeding profusely. Hermione was torn between laughing at his forgetfulness and hurting for his hand. She rushed over and grabbed his hand, despite his protesting, and quickly cast the healing charm she had used on Harry. It numbed the pain and sealed the gashes. It was only for small cuts, making it a lot more effective on Fred, considering that Harry's cuts were a lot deeper. A huge cheer shook Hermione out of her thoughts. She glanced up in time to see Fred slam a Bludger at Malfoy. He and Harry were racing for the Snitch and Malfoy was forced to dodge the Bludger, allowing Harry to snatch the small golden walnut-sized ball. A louder cheer rose from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and of course, Gryffindor. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. This way, Ron's failed attempts at blocking the Quaffle had meant nothing in the game. She focused her binoculars on Fred and Angelina, who were giving each other one-armed hugs. It cheered her up, somehow, knowing that he and Angelina weren't colliding in a huge love hug.

Fred felt proud that he had helped in winning the game. He touched down on the ground and raised his fist in the air, triumphantly, just like the rest of the team. He saw Angelina come toward him, giving him a one armed hug. He hugged her back in the same half hearted manner. To his surprise, her next stop wasn't to Harry, but rather Ron. He flinched, prepared for a loud explosion towards his poor little brother, but it never came. Angelina mussed up Ron's hair and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Ron, I know you must feel really bad," She began, "But everyone has their faults and I know you tried really hard. And I'm not going to give up on you, Ron Weasley. You're our best bet we've got, compared to the other people who tried out. I know you've got it in you, and one day, I hope I can be there to see that potential finally show itself." Angelina gave Ron's shoulder a quick squeeze before going off to thank Harry for his catch.

_Oookay, _Fred thought, _Things are getting weird. When Angelina doesn't threaten to curse someone's head off for failing at their task in Quidditch and instead encourages them, something's up. Something extremely weird, and I'm going to find out what. _As soon as the team began filing into the locker rooms, Fred pulled Angelina aside before she went into the lady's locker room.

"Okay," He said, leaning casually against the wall beside her, "What's going on with Ron and you?"

Angelina glanced away, "Nothing."

"Right. Now tell me, what's going on between Ron and you?"

"Fred," Angelina stared into his eyes, "I think we should stay friends. I mean, I'll admit I used to fancy you, but after I started dating you, I realized you weren't my type. You're too… smooth, in everything. I prefer flustered boys, because I find that cute, yet I don't think I've seen you mess up once. Everything you do is in one quick, gliding action. There is no 'I'm going to grab your hand, oh, I can't do it, I'll grab the saltshaker' times, and I've craved those times. And Ron is one of the boys who do stuff like that. Aside from that, Fred, I'm sick of your lies. I know what you've been doing with Granger isn't all that innocent as you try to make it sound. You fancy her, and as much as you try to hide it, you're going to have to face that truth sooner or later, Fred. All I can say is that sooner is usually better than later."

"But," Fred wasn't sure how to reply to this, so he just tried to stall for time, "Why not Harry? C'mon, he's gotta be cuter than my little brother. I mean, I'm the only one who has the looks… aside from George, 'cause he looks like me." Fred cracked a smile.

Angelina grinned wearily back, "Well, Harry has too much fame; I don't think I can stand having so many people on my back, constantly wondering what he's doing. Besides, he's seemed to have closed his heart to love after Cho."

Fred had finally thought this through and decided to agree. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about hurting Angelina and if she manages to make Ron fall in love with her, Fred could date Hermione without any guilt. If Hermione would still accept him after what he had said, obviously.

"Well, it truly hurts right here," Fred took her hand and placed it on the left side of his chest, "To lose to my brother, but…Fine, we're broken up." He grinned to show that he had been joking about being hurt.

"I knew you'd understand." Angelina gave Fred a quick kiss on the cheek, "Now I've got to change out of this."

Fred smiled and walked into the boys' locker room, not noticing Hermione watching sadly from the shadows.

Hermione hurried down from the stands and raced towards the team, ready to congratulate and hug Harry. They were heading towards the locker rooms and she hoped to catch him before he went in. But as she walked closer, she saw Fred pull Angelina away from the crowd. _Oh, no, I don't want to see this. _She thought, but she couldn't bring herself to turn away. She saw Fred lean in front of Angelina, his face shielding hers from view. He began chatting with her and Hermione saw Angelina reply, he said something and she began talking rapidly back to him. _Probably arranging another date, _Hermione thought bitterly. She fought the urge to go and punch Angelina as Fred took her hand and put it on his chest. Soon after, Angelina's face brightened into a smile and gave Fred a kiss. Hermione ached to do that. As Angelina began to walk away, Hermione quickly stepped back into the shadows incase Fred looked her way. She had worried in vain, however, because Fred had walked into the locker room, cheerful and carefree.

Behind her, the Slytherins marched grumpily in. Most of them ignored her, but Malfoy, last to enter, stopped in front of her.

"What you doing here, Granger? Waiting for our Weasel King? He is rightfully, our King," He snickered, "He allowed us to score every goal he attempted."

"Yeah?" Hermione replied coolly, despite her shattered heart, "Well I didn't see you help at all. Perhaps you're jealous because you're of no use to your team and they only recruited you because your father bought your way in. And now you're picking on me because you're a sore, useless, _ferret._" Hermione crossed her arms.

"YOU!" Malfoy reached for his wand, but Hermione was too fast. She already had her wand out and pointing at Malfoy's forehead.

"What were you saying?" She asked calmly, running through all the spells she could joyfully practice on him.

Malfoy paled, if it was possibly, even more under the point of her wand. He narrowed his eyes, and muttered "I'll get you back, Granger." He moved towards the boys' locker room. Hermione itched to turn him into an animal, as the fake Mad-Eye had done, but thought better of it. She didn't want trouble with teachers. She exited the Quidditch field and went to the common room, where everyone had probably already arrived while she was threatening Malfoy.

Along the way to her destination, Hermione suffered from many comments from Houses all around. Things from, "remind to send the Weasel King our love!" from the Slytherins to "tell your boyfriend to practice harder because he sucks!" from the Hufflepuffs. Tears stung her eyes as person after person took their anger towards Ron on her. She even got a few, "Look at her! She's a loser! No wonder she's stuck with that Ron who is too sad to be called a Keeper!" If she had been with Fred, none of this would be happening. On contrary, she probably would be praised for Fred's winning hit. _I can't take this anymore! _She thought as she wiped away tears, _I'm breaking up with him today! Fred can kill me if he wants, I don't care! _Stopping in front of the Fat Lady, she muttered the password and stepped in through to portrait hole to see Fred and George passing out "treats" to the poor people who didn't know not to take food from Fred and George. Roaring in rage, she grabbed at her hair and shouted at them, "HOW COULD YOU? THEY'RE─" The crowd laughed as Neville suddenly sprouted feathers. "─CLUELESS TO WHAT YOU DID! YOU…" She finally noticed that a celebration was currently going on in the room. She paused, went up to them, and whispered, "One of you, if not both, get your butt behind me." Hermione saw Fred gulp and gave George a look that said, "Guess it'll be me," and followed Hermione out of the portrait hole.

"How could you do that?" Hermione asked furiously, "They didn't know what they were taking! This is even worse than paying them!" She ignored the Fat Lady watching this interestedly.

Fred stepped closer to Hermione, her finally getting on his last nerve, always interfering with his business. Hermione, startled that he had gotten so close with that menacing look on his face, stepped back and tripped over a potted plant behind her. She yelped as she began to fall backward. Fred reached out and tried to catch her, but he missed. When he had taken a step forward to catch her, his foot landed on his untied shoelace and he, too, tripped. _Great, I knew I should have tied that. _He thought as he thrust out his hands, prepared to break the fall that was going to kill his ribs. But his ribs never made contact with the ground. Instead, he knocked the air out of Hermione, landing on top of her.

"Oof!" She cried, "You weigh a ton, Fred!"

"It's all muscle," He grinned, looking down at her and it was then when he realized how close their lips were. He felt Hermione's chest rise and fall underneath him and he could smell Hermione's minty breath, right under his nose. Their eyes met and before he knew it, Hermione had wrapped her arms around her neck and was pulling him down. Fred tired of resisting everything that seemed to have gone wrong in his life, allowed her lips to touch his. He liked the feel of her gentle hands on his neck, giving him a slight tickling sensation as she ran her fingers lightly over it and into his hair. Before he could control himself, he was rubbing his left hand gently against Hermione's soft cheek while his right hand held him up so he wasn't entirely crushing her. It no longer registered to him that he was snogging his brother's girlfriend and if someone caught them at this, the days he had shunned Hermione to protect his brother would have been wasted.

The portrait swung open next to them and out stepped Ron and Harry.

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**I know, I know! It's a cliffy. I'm sorry! I'll try to get an update soon as I possibly can, alright? Meanwhile, don't hate me too much. Please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and his magical world. If I did, a whole lot of the characters that had died would still be alive. Then again, if I did, it probably wouldn't be so popular, the fact being that I'm no where as good as J.K. Rowling in writing. So... the Harry Potter Series still belongs to J.K. Rowling. **

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update. There's two reasons. One, I'm busy. Two, I've got writer's block. I'll try to update as soon as I can and once my writer's block decides to take a vacation elsewhere, I shouldn't take too long. Remember, reviews help make my writer's block go bye-bye. Okay, now I'm sounding insane? Anyways, enjoy the story!**

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"What the bloody Hell is going on?" Ron yelled, staring down at his girlfriend and brother on the ground.

Fred rolled off Hermione and she sat up, her hair disheveled, but her eyes were bright.

"Ron, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while…" She said softly, getting up and brushing herself off.

"Oh, I don't think there's any need to talk." Ron said shortly, his ears becoming bright red, "I think the words "YOU'RE CHEATING ON ME WITH MY BROTHER" ARE CLEAR ENOUGH!" His voice rose as he spoke to Hermione. His hand plunged into his robes and drew out his wand. Hermione and Fred simultaneously pulled out theirs. Harry immediately stepped between them.

Facing Ron, he said in an even tone, "Ron, don't even try it. Fred is in his seventh year and Hermione probably knows even more jinxes than most of the seventh years."

"Then fight like a man!" Ron growled, pocketing his wand and crouching down slightly, his hands balled into fists. He lunged at Fred, who was still deciding if he should fight his ickle Ronniekins or not. Harry grabbed the collar of Ron's robe as Ron continued to flail his limbs uselessly at Fred, grunting words like, "You. Traitor. Bastard."

"Fred is two years older than you! He'd crush you in a fight. Calm down, mate!" Harry tried to talk some sense into the boy. Ron stopped abruptly, and hung his head limply. But when he looked back at Hermione, she preferred anger to the betrayal and hurt she saw in the familiar blue eyes.

"I… truly loved you." Ron's voice cracked at the word "loved". He turned away, hiding the tears that silently streamed down his cheeks. His heart seemed to have been torn out, ripped into pieces, and placed back into him. Taking long, determined strides, he walked away from them, down a corridor and disappeared.

"'Mione, I never thought you would do such a thing." Harry shook his head grimly at Hermione before going off the calm Ron down.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Hermione spoke sadly, staring at Fred, who had never felt so helpless before.

"No, Hermione," he replied softly, wrapping his arms around her. He figured that since Ron already saw them together, there was no more reason for him to hold back.

"No," He repeated, "_You _didn't screw up, _we _did. And because of that reason, we'll work together to fix this."

"But Ron hates me." Hermione, for the first time, realized that as much as she was disgusted by him, she had affection towards Ron. Perhaps it wasn't sexual attraction, but she counted him as a best friend and didn't want to lose him.

"He hates me too," Fred sighed, allowing Hermione to rest her cheek against his chest.

"Harry also hates me." Hermione couldn't help but let a tear escape from her eye, "Fred, they were my best friends and in many situations, I feel that they're the only ones I've got in Hogwarts." Hermione couldn't believe she was spilling her deepest secrets to Fred, but at the moment, she felt completely alone and vulnerable.

"'Mione, Harry doesn't hate you!" Fred gently pushed Hermione away so he could look her in the face. "Now where's that tough girl that helped kick Malfoy-butt in her third year?" Fred never realized that Hermione would feel lonely. He never realized that she, such a confident-seeming teen, was actually insecure. But the more he thought about it, it seemed to make sense. Hermione Granger, the name registered to most Gryffindors as the girl who knew everything in classes, but nothing about having fun; who would tag along with the Boy Who Lived and that nobody, Ronald Weasley. She was excluded, growing up in Hogwarts, other people never bothering to look beneath the surface to find what Fred had found. Of course she would be lonely. She spent her time here as the girl not many liked, the teacher's pet, the one others would wrinkle their noses in distaste and mutter "know-it-all." Snape had once gone so far as to call her an "insufferable know-it-all." Obviously, she would be insecure. She constantly had to be worried about what others thought of her. Fred couldn't believe he had been so inconsiderate, never thinking of her feelings, seeing through her eyes whenever she was being made fun of. All he'd ever done was laugh, thinking it was all good fun.

"I…Fred, I've lost the only two people that gave me the strength to go on in Hogwarts!" Hermione spoke, her voice shaking with emotion, "And now that they're gone, do you think I'd have the strength to be that girl who kicked Malfoy's butt?" The dam that she had built, trying to keep her tears in, broke down and tears streamed down her cheeks as she tightened her arms around Fred's waist and cried into his well-built chest.

Fred clutched Hermione tighter as his heart was threatening to rip open, watching her cry. _If this wasn't partially my fault, Ronald, I would kill you for making her suffer like this. _He thought, but immediately chastised himself. It was his fault for kissing Hermione and in the process hurting both Ron and her. Guilt gave his conscience an extra hard pinch as he held Hermione, as if reminding Fred that he wasn't supposed to fall in love with the girl his brother adored since long ago. _She needs me right now, _He argued back, _Once she's got Harry back at her side, I'll stop trying to twist the world around by loving her. We weren't meant to love each other, I know. I agree we were meant to hate each other, be foes rather than friends, and I promise I'll stop fighting against what was meant to be…but I need to make sure she'll be fine before I quit. _He listened to Hermione's soft sobs and tuned out the Fat Lady's sympathetic sighs. _I'm sorry Hermione, but I'm sure you'll be better off with someone else… anyone else other than me. Besides, I'm not good enough for you. Look at you, probably the cleverest witch of the century, carefully winning all the teachers' trust. Then there's me, troublemaker of the century, someone that no one would ever pair with you. I don't want to hurt you again, Hermione. But in the long run, it's going to be better for you. _Hermione's shoulder's shook less violently and her sobs quieted even more and eventually ceased. She stared up at Fred; a hint of tears still remained in her eyes.

"I think we should think this through," Fred avoided her sad gaze, "I mean, think of what the consequences would be if we actually got together. I think we should give each other time before making irrational decisions."

"But─" Hermione tried to speak, but Fred pushed past her, mumbled the password to the Fat Lady and walked into the common room. Once in, he made a beeline for the boys' dorm.

Hermione had followed Fred into the common room, bowing her head so that her hair would hide her red eyes. She wanted to talk to him, to convince him that she didn't care for consequences; that she only wanted to be with him. But she saw him practically sprint up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and she knew that he didn't want to deal with her. _Even Fred can't stand to be around me, _She thought sadly, _I don't have anyone now. I'm alone again, just as I had been before meeting Harry and Ron. _She stepped out of the common room, once again, thoroughly annoying the Fat Lady.

"I should just hang wide open for you guys, shouldn't I? So I won't have to bother reopening and closing!" She said, huffily.

Hermione ignored her and sat down, her arms wrapped around her knees and her back against the wall of the corridor. The common room was too happy and loud for her. Her dorm would probably be packed with Parvati and Lavender's friends, busily gossiping. In the corridor, it was quiet and empty, so no one could witness her in such a hopeless state. Tears began to sting her eyes again as she thought of how eager Fred was to abandon her. _He only let me cry on him because he was trying to be nice, _She figured, _And he wasn't the one who kissed me. I forcefully pulled him down and kissed him. _Hermione felt ashamed, thinking about it. _What's wrong with me? I was always able to control myself. It's not like me to cheat on someone, to be disloyal, to kiss someone on impulse. _She shook her head, attempting to clear it. _Must be the stress from schoolwork. O.W.Ls are drawing closer. _Hermione rested her forehead against her knees, hiding the tears that were flowing into her lap. _Why can't live be less complicated? _Exhausted, Hermione fell asleep.

"Hermione?" A familiar voice penetrated her sleepy haze. _Fred?_ The name immediately jumped into her head and she snapped awake. Looking down at her with concern was Harry. _How could I think his voice was Fred's? I've known Harry for five years! _Hermione wondered if she was slowly going insane. Behind him, Ron was shifting his weight back and fro between his left and right feet. He glanced at her and saw that she was awake. Nodding curtly, he walked through the portrait hole and into the common room.

"Hermione, let's go." Harry helped his female best friend up and let her towards the portrait hole.

"Harry, I don't want to go in there. I want some peace and quiet. I'm not in the mood for a party."

"Hermione, the party's over."

"You sure?" Hermione didn't want to face the embarrassment of running out of the party again.

"So should I just hang open here and wait for you to finish your chat?" The Fat Lady called out irritably.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Harry pushed Hermione through and followed.

Looking around the room, she found that it was empty. She walked over to the couch in front of the fireplace and collapsed onto it. Tears began welling up in her eyes once more as she thought of Fred. _No, Granger, you will not cry. Haven't you've done enough of that already? _Hermione bit her lip as tears overflowed and spilled down her cheeks. Harry came over and sat down next to her.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Oh Harry," Hermione threw her arms around a startled Harry and began sobbing into his shoulder. "Ron hates me, Fred won't talk to me, and you probably hate me too!"

"'Mione," Harry placed his arm awkwardly around Hermione's shaking shoulders, "Of course I don't hate you. I'm not saying I approve of what you did, but you're one of my best mates and I'd never hate you just because of something like this."

"Thanks, Harry. I'm glad I have you." The tears stopped flowing and she looked up, into Harry's emerald green eyes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. It meant nothing more than friendship, and the two both knew it. Unfortunately, the third party, unnoticed by neither Hermione nor Harry, did not.

Fred lay on his bed, placing a silencing charm around him so that George and Lee could party without disturbing him. He closed his eyes and thought about Hermione's gentle eyes, despite her usually tense expression. He mentally pictured the way her hair, beautiful no matter what she did with it, cascaded down her back as she would prance gracefully, despite the books that weighed her down. He chuckled, remembering the furious look in her breathtaking liquid brown eyes as she smacked the sense out of Malfoy. And as he thought of how Hermione looked at him before he dropped his lips onto hers just a while ago, a dreamy glaze took over his eyes. _Who gives a crap about what the world thinks? _He decided, _Why am I always letting the world make my decisions? It's about time I take control of my own life! As I grew up, everyone expected me to be a prankster, and just so everything was 'meant to be', here I am, a genius prankster. But that's okay, because I actually enjoy it. Being a prankster naturally means that I annoy teachers and oppose them in every way. That's what everyone expects and that's what George and I do. I enjoy that too, it's fun seeing __McGonagall's lips go thinner just when I thought they could no longer become any thinner. But not being with Hermione just because everybody else thinks it's wrong? No, not anymore, world. I'm not letting you control me. Now that Ron and Hermione are split, there's nothing _wrong _with dating Hermione, just that it wasn't 'meant to be.' But heck, who cares about what's 'meant to be?' I now that I know Hermione loves me, nothing can keep me back. So, Hermione─ _"HERE I COME!" Fred jerked up from his bed. Although the silencing charm had kept his random exclamation quiet, his sudden movement made his roommates jump. Looking around, he just realized that the room was filled. Lifting the silencing charm, he heard George yell across the room at him, "THE PARTY'S OVER! MCGONAGALL CAME AND TOLD US TO GO TO BED!" Fred snickered, doubting that anyone would actually listen and obediently go to sleep. He left the noisy room and sailed down the stairs, light hearted that he was finally able to be with Hermione.

"Thanks Harry, I'm glad I have you." Hermione's voice floated from the couch to Fred, who stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Fred could only blink stupidly as he watched Hermione, with her arms around Harry, kiss Harry on the cheek. _Right, _Fred thought bitterly, _What did I expect? 'What was meant to be' is still 'what was meant to be.' Everyone figured that Harry and Hermione would get together. And look at them, such a sweet couple. I was probably just a game to Hermione, a little extra something that could keep her amused. And the price I had to pay was the loss of my brother. It's temporarily, I hope, but it's not worth it. Not worth it to be the victim of her cruel game. _Fred slowly ascended back up the stairs, his heart cracked open.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Harry Potter series.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the slow updates. I'm trying my best to finish, but my schedules is just getting fuller day by day. Anyways, I think this story is going to be done soon. The next chapter should be the last unless I suddenly have another idea pop up. Enjoy!**

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Hermione opened her eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight streaming from the window. She felt utterly horrible. What was wrong with her? _Oh, right._ She recalled, _Ron hating me and Fred ignoring me. _Hermione sighed, wondering why the world was treating her in such a cruel way. Turning around, she saw that Lavender and Parvati's beds were empty next to hers. She must have slept in late, then. Usually she was up an hour before they even stirred in their sleep. Afraid she was going to be late, she leaped up and stubbed her toe in the process.

"ARGH!" She cried out, grabbing her foot and hopping up and down. _Great way to start my morning, isn't it? _She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and found, with relief, that she had only missed five minutes of breakfast. It meant she wouldn't be late for class unless she was planning on sitting here for fifty minutes. Hermione gingerly stood up and changed into her robes. After brushing her teeth and battling her hair, she limped into the common room. Her toe was still throbbing and her hair had been especially difficult. Crookshanks had escaped from the cage she had put him in and therefore decided to take revenge on Hermione. So along with everything else the world had put on her shoulders, she was sporting three rather nasty looking scratches on her arm. Muttering irritably to herself, she made her way through the empty room towards the portrait hole. As she was reaching out to push it open, it swung out to reveal a tired Fred walking in. They froze upon seeing each other, with Fred barely in the room. Hermione could barely breathe, taking notice of the minimal distance between them.

"Fred…" Hermione's voice wasn't even a whisper, just a small puff of air. His ocean blue eyes were piercing into her, causing her heart to race uncontrollably. The Fat Lady apparently decided she was tired of waiting for Fred to step fully in, because she abruptly swung shut, knocking Fred forward, closing the distance.

Hermione couldn't think, her mind was slow and foggy. The only thing that kept her from falling away was Fred's eyes. His body was so close to hers, she loved the feel of him against her. Bringing her arms up around his neck, she leaned forward and her soft lips met with his.

Fred felt as if he was paralyzed when the portrait had pushed him against Hermione. He only knew how close Hermione was too him. In truth, he liked the feeling of Hermione so close and he didn't want to move. Before he was able to gather his senses, Hermione kissed him. Fred stood there, confused. He didn't respond to her kiss, but he didn't pull back either. Hermione's fingers pressed into the back of his neck, waking him up. He roughly pushed Hermione away, anger filling his eyes.

"No, Hermione! I'm not playing this game anymore!" Fury engulfed him as he thought of how Hermione had only used him as a toy, "I'm not your toy anymore! Hermione, I can't believe you'd be so cruel!" Hermione looked up at Fred in surprise, and then she began to shake her head, stumbling back. "Yeah, go ahead and cry, go cry to Harry!" Fred continued on, "Go to your sweetheart!"

"What are you talking about, Fred?" Hermione replied, angrily, "Why are you being so mean to me? What did I do?"

"What did you do?" Fred's eyes were nearly popping out of his head, "What did you do? Maybe make me lose my brother? Maybe play me like a game? Maybe pretend to like me while you're in love with Harry?"

Hermione shook her head, having no idea what Fred was rambling about.

"What's wrong with you, Weasley?" She asked coldly, "You're insane, you know that? You're crazy. I have no idea what in Merlin's world you're talking about." She strode away from Fred and his blue eyes, out the portrait hole.

Outside, Hermione leaned against a wall, wondering why the world was treating her so harshly. _What did I ever do? _She thought sadly, _What did I do to make Fred hate me this much? Is it because Fred and I were never meant for each other? Because Fred, deep within him, truly hates me? _Hermione felt her heart shatter as the thought crossed her mind. As hard as she tried to push it away, it stayed there, like a cloud of gloom, hanging over her head. _So what? I don't need him. I don't need a boy to love me and hold me. I have Harry beside me, and that's all I need. I can live with just my friends. Who needs a lover? _But no matter how much Hermione wished that were true, she knew that she wanted ─no needed─ Fred's lips on hers, his arms around her, his voice in her ear, and his love encircling her. A single tear slid down her cheek before she bit her lip, holding the rest back. _I've cried enough, _She told herself and continued towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

"'Mione, what's wrong?"

Hermione replied with a blank stare before realizing that Harry was talking to her.  
"Nothing, Harry. I'm just tired." She pushed the bacon around her plate some more. Not one piece of food on her plate had touched her mouth, although they were artfully arranged into a formation. Hermione blinked as she looked down and saw that she had absentmindedly used her breakfast to spell out Fred's name. She quickly moved her food around so they were in a random pattern.

"You should get some rest, then."

Hermione looked scandalized, "BUT MCGONAGALL IS GIVING US A MAJOR TEST TODAY AND I HAVE HER RIGHT AFTER BREAKFAST! HOW CAN I REST? WHAT IF I MISS IT?" Most of the Gryffindor table was staring at her and a few others from the other houses were also giving her quizzical looks, wondering why she was freaking out. Blushing furiously, she tried her best to hide behind Harry, but her bushy hair gave her away. Reaching into her bag, she quickly withdrew a random book and hid behind it. _That was mortifying! _Hermione thought, _As if they don't think I'm enough of a bookworm! And here I go, proving them right by freaking out about a test first thing in the morning. _

Harry chuckled, pushing the book down, "'Mione, they've stopped staring."

Hermione let out a soft cry of pain.

"What's wrong?" Harry's brow immediately creased with concern.

"Just," Hermione showed him the scratches on her arm, "You pushed the book onto them, that's all."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, 'Mione!" Harry was extremely apologetic, "Those look pretty bad. What happened?"

"Crookshanks," Hermione replied, wincing.

"I thought he was locked behind bars so he wouldn't distract you and cause chaos while you study for O.W.Ls. As Ron would put it, 'YOU BETTER KEEP THAT MAD BEAST SHUT IN A ROOM!'" Harry smiled.

Hermione didn't smile back. His mentioning of Ron brought back the memories of how she had messed up too many times.

Harry, receiving no reply from her, decided to change the subject. "So, I'm planning a D.A. meeting today. Do you think you're up for it?"

"Me? Of course!" Hermione beamed, "I think that's the only thing that I look forward to nowadays."

"Great! Cover for me, will you?" Hermione scooted closer to Harry and propped herself up using her arm, facing towards Harry. Her hair, sleeve of her robe, and her body blocked Harry completely from the view of Umbridge, sitting at the head table. Unluckily, the angle in which she faced Harry gave a certain someone the wrong impression as he walked into the great hall, tempted to finish his breakfast.

Fred walked into the great hall. After the unfortunate encounter with Hermione, he realized that his stomach was rumbling again. At the entrance, however, he felt as if someone had landed a heavy blow on his head. He stood stock-still, staring at Hermione and Harry. She had her face turned towards him, her head propped up with her elbow. And he could see that she was in the middle of giving Harry a nice kiss on the cheek. Fred felt red hot anger boil in his blood. _The nerve of her! _He fumed, _One minute she's trying to snog me, the next she's kissing Harry! _

A little annoying voice was gently chiding him, _Stop being jealous, Fred. _

_Me? Jealous? _Fred acted incredulous, _What? Of who? Harry? Because Hermione likes him? No way in the Wizarding world is that going to happen! _

_Right. _

_Okay. So maybe I'm a _little _jealous. So? _

_So you should tell her how you feel about her instead of pushing her away._

_I'M A GAME TO HER!_

_Maybe you're not. You should try telling her._

_Shut it._

_Okay. _

As Fred was stomping towards the common room, ignoring his grumbling stomach, something became warm in his pocket. Bringing it out, he saw that there was a D.A. meeting later today. _Should I go? _He pondered, _But… then it's almost like I'm fraternizing with my enemy! Oh Merlin, I sound like Ron! _He shook his head, _Besides, it's not Harry's fault that Hermione chose him over me. Why am I being so hard on him? D.A. meetings are always meaningful. _He pocketed his galleon, which had cooled to his touch.

-Skipping to dinner-

"'Mione, you've GOT to eat!" Harry urged his best friend, "You weren't here for lunch, you didn't eat breakfast, and you're not eating your dinner! Listen, if you're still upset because of Ron, he doesn't hate you anymore!"

Hermione wasn't really upset over Ron, but she didn't feel like explaining her problem with Fred to Harry and decided to just play along with it.

"What do you mean he doesn't hate me?" She asked dully, stabbing her steak with her fork, pulling it out, and then swirled her mashed potatoes.

"Uh… Well, I mean… I'm sure he doesn't ­_hate _you, like want you to die or anything… but… he just…"

"Hates me."

"Erm. Yeah."

Hermione shook her head and went back to stabbing her food repeatedly with her fork and knife. With every stab, she imagined it to be Fred's face, the handsome, laughing, evil Fred that had caused so much confusion and pain for her.

A disgruntled Ron dropped down besides Harry.

"Sometimes that Mcgonagall is really a…" He said a word that made Hermione exclaim "RON!" despite her depressed state. Ron threw her a glare and ignored her, ranting on and on about how Mcgonagall gave him a detention for accidentally squashing the worm that they were supposed to transfigure into a piece of string. Hermione couldn't help but snort at this, receiving yet another dirty look from Ron.

"I know, Ron. Teacher's are just so… ugh!" Angelina jumped into their conversation from across the table. Ron looked at her in surprise. His Quidditch captain had never given him a time of day before. Why was she doing so now?

"You know, Ron." Angelina lowered her lashes slightly, "I don't think you're stupid. In fact, you're pretty smart. I know a lot of other people say otherwise, but don't listen to them. They're blind to a real genius."

Hermione and Harry stared at Angelina, their mouths open. Was Angelina Johnson flirting with the lowly Ronald Weasley? Ron seemed please as he turned onto Hermione.

"See! Some people can actually see my true potential instead of putting me down all day!"

Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish in water, but couldn't come up with a reply. For once, Hermione Granger was wordless; although it was only because she was still in shock that Angelina would show any interest whatsoever in Ron.

Ron got up smugly and went to sit next to Angelina. They soon where chatting animatedly with each other and Angelina would constantly poke him or touch his hand as she talked.

"Who would have guessed this would happen?" Hermione murmured to Harry, "I would have paired almost anyone up with Ron except Angelina. Who knew she had an interest in younger men?"

"You should be the one talking," Harry replied, "No one would have figured that something would go on between you and Fred. King of Mischief and Ms. Prefect. Now that's what I call ironic."

Hermione felt a pang in her chest when Harry mentioned Fred, but she ignored it, "How about Luna and you? Who would have expected you would fall for a girl like Luna?"

"I… I d… didn't!" Harry stuttered, his cheeks colored with pink.

"Don't try that with me, Potter." Hermione waggled her finger at him, "I'm your best friend. Don't you think I can tell when you like a girl? It's so obvious in the way you stare at her."

"Okay, fine, maybe I do like her."

"Thank Heavens; the boy has finally admitted it!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air in an exaggerated performance of relief. "Oh, and like I said, you and Luna would be a much unexpected couple. I can't wait to see the expressions on people's faces when you guys finally get together."

"Who says Luna likes me back?" Harry muttered, "But that's besides the fact. Why would it be so unexpected? We're both eccentric. I'm messed up, mentally connected with Voldemort and fainting all over the place. Luna reads magazines upside down and believes in the weirdest things."

Hermione nodded, biting down on her lip. The logic was so… logical!

"Then it's not hard to understand why Fred and I belong together," She said softly, "He's mischievous and humorous. I'm uptight and serious. We fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. I make up for what he lacks, he makes up for what I lack, and we can put our cleverness together. We share that and with that, we bond." Harry grinned at her little speech and at the dreamy look that crossed her features as she talked.

"Oh, 'Mione, it's seven thirty. We should get going to the Room of Requirement, just to check that everything is in order." Harry tugged at Hermione's sleeve and they quickly exited the hall.

"Okay, we're going to learn the Patronus charm today." Harry faced the entire room of classmates, staring expectantly at his face.

"First, everyone think of the happiest memory you can think of. It has to be strong, vivid, and most of all, ecstatically joyful. Try to think of one now."

Hermione closed her eyes and she searched her mind for happy memories. At the park with her family? No, not happy enough, not vivid enough. As she went through, memory by memory, judging which one was good enough, she finally decided on one. The moment came rushing to her, making her flush pink as she relived it.

_Fred had fallen onto her, and she pulled him down against him, kissing him passionately. He had finally responded to what her mouth demanded, and she loved every second of it. She loved the feel of his body against hers, his hand in her hair. She could feel the softness of his lips as they kissed; the smoothness of his jaw as she ran her hand down it. At that moment, she knew what pure bliss, pure joy was. It had numbed every other emotion in the world, leaving her only with happiness. _

"Have you all got your happiest memories in your mind?"

Harry's voice caused Hermione's eyes to flutter open. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire and she nodded quickly along with the rest of her group.

"Good, now it's time to test of they're strong enough. Now you point out your wand, think of that memory, have it clear in your head as you say 'Expecto Patronum'!" A silvery stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand. The crowd gasped and looked up as it sailed over their heads and disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

Everybody began spreading around the room, scrunching their faces in concentration, attempting at the complicated charm. Hermione, once again, thought of Fred and she announced, "Expecto Patronum!" An otter scurried out of the tip of her wand and began moving playfully around her head before disappearing.

"Good job, 'Mione." Harry had passed her and gave her a pat on her back. Hermione beamed at him as he moved on to help poor Neville, who was concentrating so hard that he was sweating but still unsuccessful.

After an hour or so, a whistle could be heard clear above the noise.

"Alright, we've got about ten more minutes left, but I want to say something." Harry said after everyone was quiet, "I just want to remind everyone that in front of a dementor, it's a lot harder, so we should try our best to remember the happiest moments of our lives."

Suddenly Luna burst out, "Yes, and my happiest moments are here. Because here, I feel like I almost have friends." Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Luna always said things that people had no idea how to respond to.

Harry walked over to Luna and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Luna, you'll always have a friend. And that's me. But now, I feel as if we should be more than friends. What do you think?" Everybody's jaws dropped open and their eyes were as wide as saucers. If it wouldn't ruin the whole mood, Hermione would have burst out laughing at their expressions. The silence hung smothering and heavy while everyone waited for Luna, who looked like she was in shock, to reply.

"Of course I agree!" Luna suddenly seemed to have suddenly woken up. She threw her arms around Harry and Harry wrapped his arms around her. Hermione began to applaud and everyone in the room followed suit. It was as if this had turned the entire session into an affection-show. People began scrambling towards their lovers and embrace. She looked around and attempted at a smile as Ginny ran into Dean's waiting arms. Ron and Angelina suddenly locked their lips together and snogged while George grabbed Katie around the waist. She looked towards Fred, who was standing in a corner, a look of confusion on his face as he stared at Harry and Luna.

_But… I thought Hermione and Harry were an item! _Fred was confused as he watched Luna give Harry a peck on the cheek. He shrugged his shoulders, _Maybe Hermione decided to dump him sometime today. Seems like something Hermione would do. Play guys like toys and throw them away when she's tired of them. _He scowled, _And that's what I am to her─ a toy. _He crossed his arms and pushed past various couples who looked like they were having a wrestling match with their mouths. _I need to get out of here before I explode. _He walked out of the Room of Requirement and headed towards the common room.

Hermione watched Fred exit and made a move to follow him. Before she could reach the door, however, Ron tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw him with his arm around Angelina's shoulder.

"Yes, Ronald?" She asked, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice. She had to talk to Fred!

"Look, 'Mione," He looked down at his shoes, "Maybe I overreacted. And I've thought about it, and you're right for leaving me." He lifted his head to stare into her eyes, "I realize that we really weren't meant for each other. You were too demanding and wanted to dominate; I also wanted to dominate and hated it when you kept picking on me about schoolwork. We wouldn't work out together. Angelina is who's meant for me. Erm, what I'm trying to say is… I forgive you, 'Mione. I'm not mad anymore." He gave her a smile.

"Thanks Ron, I'm glad you finally understand." Hermione flashed him a sincere smile, "Well, I've got to go do some… erm, homework. So I'll see Angelina and you around." She swung around and walked out the door.

As she headed towards the Gryffindor dorms, she began to feel slightly light-headed. _Maybe I should have had something to eat or drink today, _She thought as she stumbled slightly, _I am feeling rather weak. I'll go get something to eat after I talk to Fred. _

"Wingardium Leviosa," She muttered to the Fat Lady as the password. The Fat Lady acknowledged it with a nodd before swinging open. Hermione stepped in and spotted Fred sitting on the couch, staring aimlessly at the crackling fire.

"Hey Fred." She said, walking towards him.

He looked at her, stood up, and also began towards her.

"What do you want, Granger?"

"Fred, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"About _us. _What's wrong? I could feel that you liked me when you held me so closely."

"I did, Hermione," Fred spat bitterly, "I loved you. Yet you're just playing a game. I'm just a little toy to you, aren't I? Just like Ron was, like Harry was."

"What do you mean?" Hermione couldn't comprehend what Fred was saying.

"Don't act all innocent!" He pushed Hermione, not caring when she stumbled back and almost fell.

"Ron wasn't a game, we just were mismatched," Hermione tried to explain, but hunger and fatigue had gotten to her and the room became blurry, "Harry and I… What game?"

"I saw Harry and you together! I saw you kiss him! I bet you dumped him today so he went to Luna." Fred knew he was being irrational, but jealousy and hurt had overcome him.

"No." It suddenly dawned onto Hermione that Fred probably saw them yesterday, "No! Harry was just comforting me yesterday and I gave him a kiss to thank him. I swear that there's nothing going on between us!" Hermione's knees began to buckle.

"Right, Hermione. Enough of your lies." Fred began taking long strides away from her.

"Fred, I truly, sincerely love you!" Hermione cried out before a blanket of black covered her and she felt herself falling away.

Fred froze when Hermione shouted those words. He spun around to see Hermione collapse.

"HERMIONE!" He yelled, rushing towards her and catching just before her head hit the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Harry Potter Series and I'm not gaining any profit from this.**

**Author's Note: Finished! I'm not sure what to think of this chapter. I'm not very satisfied with it, yet I kind of like it. I'm not sure if I should make an Epilogue or not. Anyways, please tell me what you think and I hope you've enjoyed this story!**

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"Hermione!" Fred kneeled down, cradling her head, "Wake up!" He shook her lightly.

The portrait door opened and Harry, along with Luna, stumbled in. Both of their faces were bright red as the glanced around the seemingly empty common room. Not noticing Hermione and Fred in the sidelines, they wrapped their arms tightly around each other and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

"Harry!" Fred shouted to the boy, "Harry! There's something wrong with Hermione!" He didn't care that he was interrupting their joy-filled moment. Hermione's health was the only thing that was in his mind.

Harry and Luna immediately parted. For the first time, they realized that there were two other people in the room.

"Merlin!" Harry exclaimed, "What's wrong with Hermione?"

"I'm not sure, but we need to get her into the hospital wing!" Fred lifted Hermione into his arms, "Can one of you please open the door?" Luna hastily scurried forward to comply. Fred sprinted towards the hospital wing with Harry trailing behind.

"Harry! I'll go to find Ron" Luna called after them, heading in another direction.

"MADAM POMFREY!" Fred roared, bursting through the doors.

"Shhhh! Mr. Weasley, what is this racquet?" Madam Pomfrey pulled on a robe as she rushed out of her office, "I have resting patients here! Now what has happened to Granger? Please don't tell me she has sprouted fur again!"

"No, no! I'm not sure what happened! She just suddenly collapsed!" Fred's words were barely comprehendible, blurred together in panic.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Put her down!" Madam Promfrey ordered crossly, and Fred hastened to obey. He gently placed Hermione down on the empty bed before him.

"Move over, move over," Madam Promfry snapped, pushing Harry and Fred aside as she made her way to Hermione. She bustled about, taking Hermione's temperature and casting complicated charms over her new patient. Madam Promfry clucked her tongue as she gave her diagnosis, "Fatigue and deprivation of calories. Her body had entered starvation mode from lack of food. Along with all that, she is slightly dehydrated. When was the last time she ate or drank?"

Fred looked helplessly at Harry, unable to answer.

"She didn't eat or drink all day and she hadn't eaten much the day before." Harry confessed, "I tried to urge her to eat, but she refused."

"And I suppose she hasn't been sleeping well?"

"I'm not sure, but she has a lot on her mind these days." Harry looked pointedly at Fred as he said this. Fred glanced away, uncomfortable under Harry's accusing stare.

Madam Promfry shook her head disapprovingly, "She'll be okay. She just needs some rest. Once she wakes up, I'll give her a nutrition-filled potion and she should be fine after that." Fred breathed a sigh of relief and Ron chose that time to rush into the hospital wing.

"What happened? Luna said something about Hermione being ill? What? Where is she?" He looked flustered.

Madam Promfry pursed her lips and walked over to Ron, "Mr. Weasley, will you please keep your voice down in a civilized manner? There are student resting here!" Ron muttered an apology before going up to Fred.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, Ronniekins. Hermione just needs some rest."

Ron slumped against a wall, "So Luna was just exaggerating?" After receiving Fred's curt nod, he moaned, "So I ran at top speed all the way here for nothing?"

"It's not my fault Luna exaggerates so much!" Fred retorted.

"Hey! Leave Luna out of this! It did look like Hermione was really sick!" Harry cut in, defending his girlfriend, "Besides, I haven't gotten on your back about Hermione yet! Did you know that she hadn't been eating and sleeping because of _you?_ So it's your fault she's like this!" Harry's voice rose steadily as he spoke.

"Will you young men please excuse yourselves?" Madam Pomfrey looked crazed as she brandished her wand at them.

The three boys quickly scampered out of the room underneath Pomfrey's dangerous stare. They argued all the way down the corridor and into the common room.

"Hermione truly loves you. You should her expression when she talks about you! I could swear she's in another world. When she talks about you, she's got the word 'love' written all over her face." Harry burst out once they stepped into the common room.

"I… Well…She seriously likes me?" Fred stuttered back, unable to answer the boy two years younger than him.

"No." Harry paused and Fred's face fell, "She _loves_ you." Fred threw Harry a glare as Harry began laughing.

"Do you love her or not, mate?" Ron added to his brother, "I swear if you break her heart I'll never forgive you."

"Yes, I love her." Fred nodded, "I love her! And I'm going to tell her!" He took a step toward the portrait hole.

"Fred, Pomfrey won't let you in! And aside from that, Hermione won't be able to hear you anyways!"

"Right." Fred spun around and headed towards his dorm, "I can finally sleep a good night's sleep!"

"I swear, Weasley's are wack." Harry muttered, shaking his head.

"Oy!" Ron slapped Harry playfully on the back, "I'm a Weasley too!"

"I know." Harry grinned, "Which means you're wack, too!" Ron retaliated and the two friends jokingly argued until they were too tired to think of comebacks.

Hermione opened her eyes, feeling terribly weak. She let out a groan and Madam Promfrey came bustling over.

"You're finally awake, Ms. Granger!" She shoved a cup of potion into Hermione's hands, "Drink this and eat this immediately after!" She commanded, placing a bowl of porridge on the table next to her, "And you may leave once you've finished."

Hermione cautiously took a ship of the potion, keeping in mind that most of Madam Pomfrey's potions were extremely disgusting. To her surprise, the potion had a pleasantly sweet taste, and she gulped it down greedily. Once she finished that, she felt a surge of hunger roar through her and she hastily finished the porridge.

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said as she climbed out of her bed. She didn't need to change since Madam Pomfrey didn't bother to dress her in the Hospital Wing robes.

Hermione rushed towards the Great Hall, hoping to catch Harry or Ron and asked them about what happened after she had passed out the night before. Just when she was about to enter the Great Hall, however, she ran right into the person she was thinking of.

"Oof! Why hello, Hermione!" Fred groaned, clutching his stomach, "Be careful of where you stick your elbow!"

"Sorry, Fred." Hermione felt flustered, "I… Uh… Well, you know what I said yesterday night? It's true."

"Hermione, I need to tell you something." Fred began.

"Potty and Looney, at Whomping Willow, S-N-O-G-G-I-N…" Peeves floated overhead.

"Actually, let's find a more private place." Fred suggested, gesturing towards the Poltergeist, "How about outside? I think the Quidditch field should be empty right now."

"But it's raining." Hermione complained, jerking her head towards the ceiling of the Great Hall.

"When has a little rain stopped us? We can just use that smart little charm you use to keep rain off us." Fred winked.

"No, I'm not in a magic-mood, right now. For some reason, I feel like going muggle this morning, just for a little bit. Please? Let me go to my dorm and get something and I'll be right down." Fred shrugged and followed after Hermione.

"What is that, Hermione?" Fred asked upon seeing the odd little black thing that resembled what Hagrid had kept his wand pieces in.

"An umbrella, Fred!"

"What's an unbella?" Fred asked, confused, "Why do you have that Hermione? Are you planning to give someone a beating?"

"No, no, Fred!" Hermione opened the umbrella, causing Fred to jump back in alarm, "It's a muggle tool used to keep rain off us!"

"Merlin, why do you have a muggle tool with you, Hermione?"

"…Because I'm a muggle-born?" Hermione sounded impatient.

"Well, I know, but why do you have it _here, _in a magical school?"

"It reminds me of my parents. This used to be my mother's; she had it since before marrying my father. It's really significant because it was raining the day my dad proposed to my mum, and that's the umbrella he held as he slipped on her ring. I've always brought it with me to Hogwarts, and whenever I'm feeling homesick, I take it out. Besides, _impervius _doesn't work as well as this." Hermione smiled, "I can't believe I can finally use it here at Hogwarts!" She beamed.

"I swear if there is one weird witch, it would be you, Hermione Granger." Fred shook his head, bewildered.

"Fred! I am not weird! Just unique!"

"Whatever you say, 'Mione honey." Fred tested out his new nickname for her and decided that he rather liked it.

Hermione, however, wrinkled her nose, "Ew. That sounds so… ugh, mushy!" She shuddered, "Just stick with Hermione, 'Mione, or even Granger is better than 'Mione honey."

"Fine, Granger." Fred shot back, slightly injured that Hermione rejected his affectionate name for her so quickly.

"Now there's the Fred Weasley I know." Hermione grinned, closing the umbrella.

Fred stared at her, "How'd you do that?" He took the umbrella from her and began examining it closely. Hermione gently showed him how to open and close it.

"Wicked!" Fred exclaimed, reopening and reclosing it repeatedly.

Hermione shook her head bemusedly. _Like father, like son, _she thought to herself.

"Let's go!" She grabbed Fred's arm, taking notice of how it seemed to be composed of only muscle.

Fred followed her touch, half his mind glorifying the fact that Hermione Granger was taking him by the arm, half his mind amazed at the muggle tool that she introduced to him. _I'm not sure what I love more─ Hermione or this Um-bella! _

"Okay, Fred, what did you want to tell me?" Hermione asked, closing the umbrella and leaning it against the wall. They had run through the rain and into the closed corridor leading to the locker rooms. Aside from the pounding rain, the silence was almost deafening.

"Well, you know, you're the arrogant, bossy, bushy-haired nerd. But instead of acknowledging that, you go around the school like you know everything in the world─"

Hermione cut him off by pushing him away, "I didn't come here to listen to you insult me!" She shouted, running away from him into the rain. _How idiotic can you be? _She chastised herself, _To you think he dragged you here to confess his love. Why would he like me? You heard him! You heard what he thinks of you! _She welcomed the refreshing rain washing over her. In the rain, her tears could blend in and her sobs were silenced by the thunder. She stood in the middle of the Quidditch field, weeping to her heart's content.

_Great, Fred, you really messed this up, _He grimaced, _I think I might have gotten the wrong message across. _He looked up and saw Hermione standing in the rain, _She's going to catch a cold! She's too weak to be in this condition such a short time after she recovered from fainting! _He felt flustered, knowing that if Hermione became ill for this, he'd never forgive himself. Grabbing the umbrella Hermione had left behind, he opened it and ran out into the rain.

Hermione felt a hand grab her roughly on the shoulder. Instinctively, she threw her palm out and smacked the attacker square in the face. She heard a familiar cry of pain and realized it was Fred.

"I guess I deserved that, eh?" Fred grinned at her. He held the umbrella over their heads as he continued to talk, "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say that despite all your imperfections, I love you. No. It's not despite those flaws, it's that I accept those flaws. I love Hermione Granger." He wiped the tears off her face, examining her. Her brown hair was plastered against her face, no longer bushy, and her soft brown eyes were gleaming with tears. _She's so beautiful. _The thought crossed his mind and he impulsively brought his lips to hers.

Hermione was about to make a deal with Fred. He had to do something in order for her to forgive him, but before she could open her mouth, Fred had kissed her. She was startled. It was the first time Fred was the one who kissed her. It was usually her kissing him. Not minding the change, however, she raised her hand to his neck and ran her fingers over it as their lips met passionately.

Fred dropped the umbrella to the ground and grabbed Hermione's free hand. The thunder boomed, the lightening flashed, and the rain pounded; but the young couple were oblivious to the world's fury. Perhaps the sky's anger was because they had gone against what was meant to be, what the world had in store for them, but they didn't care. For they each held, what was to them, perfection in their arms. As their hands met each other, as their hearts intertwined as one, they were ready to decide their own fates, to become partners in determining "what was meant to be".

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So there it is, the end of the story. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it, and I would like to thank the readers who have followed this story from the beginning and all the way through to the end. Thank you!


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